The Beginning of the End
by Wish on a Dandelion
Summary: Rowan went tumbling off her surfboard and found herself waking in Everlost... right in the hands of Mary Hightower. Will she find that one thing that matters most? Or will she be trapped in Mary's grasp forever, becoming another piece in her plan?
1. Chapter 1 The Arrival

**Summary:**

While she was surfing, Rowan went tumbling off her board and found herself in the depths of the ocean. The next thing she knew, she was in Everlost, in the hands of Mary Hightower. She feels alone in the large world of Everlost, but she soon realizes that she's not alone. No matter what, she's going to find that one thing that matters most. But how will she escape from Mary's grasp when there are guards stationed at every door? With the help of her new found allies that despise Mary as much as she does, this was made possible.  
And as if her life in Everlost wasn't complicated enough, she finds out that she's not just a normal Afterlight. Great.  
This story takes place during the second book, Everwild, by Neal Shusterman. For this story is in between the lines… of the 'In-between.'

Prologue:

_The Beginning._

_It was fall, and a cool autumn breeze grazed the side of my face as my surfboard cut through the waves with such ease that it felt like I was floating. Thunder clouds were rolling their way towards the shore, rumbling as they got closer, almost like a warning I never heard. I chose to stay in the water, though. I can't exactly tell you why, but surfing's my getaway, my safe haven from the world and what it is today. So much had been going on the past week: from my new move, to school that I have no idea what there talking about only because I was home schooled my whole life. My thoughts were weighing such a heavy weight on me that I got distracted, and that is one thing you don't want to happen when you're surfing. The next thing I know, I was tumbling off my board, and the water was enveloping me. It felt as if someone had lit a fire in my lungs, and they were now blazing in an inferno. The water was thrashing and pushing me against the rocks so much that I didn't have control over my body at all, even though I was a great swimmer. I can still see the blur of terrified faces that I spotted up on the shore before millions of bubbles blocked my vision. When I shut my eyes, visions of my life flashed before my eyes. My parents, my adoring little brother, my first bike ride. It's strange: the small memories you see on the verge of death. The images were speeding up, getting faster and faster, until I couldn't make out a single image, it was just a blur. From then on, I knew it was my time to go… my time to die… but I wasn't ready._

That was the last thing I remembered.

* * *

Chapter 1

"_Her __sleep was dreamless, as it would be for a long, long time."_

9 months later

_The Arrival._

When I awoke, I was pretty sure my death was all a dream. What brought on the dream, I didn't know. It had felt so real, but that kind of stuff doesn't happen to people like me. So it had to have been a dream, right? Well, more like a nightmare. My eyes were heavy with drowsiness, and I imagined myself lying in bed. The sun would pour through my window, and light up the whole room giving it a morning glow. The smell of Pancakes and Toast would drift up the stairs from the kitchen, and I would smile as it tickled my nose. But that wasn't it at all. As I instinctively reached out for my blanket, all I felt was a cold, hard surface. My eyes shot open and I discovered that I was definitely not in my bedroom. Or as Dorothy would say, 'Were not in Kansas anymore.'

The room I was in confused me. It was all a big dome. The crystals imbedded in the walls shimmered as the light hit it in every direction, and the reflection hit the opposite wall creating intricate shapes. The weird thing was that there were many children of all ages packed up into here. They were curled up into a fatal position, hundreds of them. They looked as if they were asleep.

When I looked down at myself, I gasped. I was in my wet suit and beads of water steadily dripped down my arms. I tried to wipe off the water, but more and more would come, like water was seeping through my clothes. I reached up, touching my hair. It was damp, like I had just blow-dried my hair, but not enough. _What the_… I caught a glimpse of my uncovered hand. It had a small, but noticeable glow to it.

I stood up examining the kid that lay next to me, prodding him with my foot. He had a glow too, but not as bright as mine was.

A soft, but powerful voice startled me, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," someone said. I spun around to find a girl with the beauty of a model staring at me. "It might disrupt their sleep."

I looked at the girl suspiciously. She had long, auburn, wavy hair that reached her waist and her crystal blue eyes seemed to pierce right through me. She looked about fifteen or sixteen. "W-who are you?" I stuttered.

"Welcome afterlight. My name is Miss Mary, and you are among friends," she said proudly, and then asked, "But the question is: who are you?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but I didn't know what to say. What was my name? I put my fingertips on my temples and closed my eyes, thinking hard. "Uh..." My head was pounding, and I was about to give up when suddenly a name showed behind my eyelids. "I-I'm Rowan." I said unable to remember my last name. I wanted to ask so many questions, I just didn't know where to start. I just started with a simple one: "Where am I?"

She smiled, "Why, you're in the Interlight incubator. But if you want me to be more specific…" she paused, and I nodded. "This is a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It's a magical, yet dangerous place where bands of lost children run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth. You are in the 'in-between'. Like a limbo between life and death." When she said this, I had a flashback of what I first thought was a dream, but now I was sure it wasn't. I remembered it all: The rolling thunder clouds, my lungs bursting after I wiped out, the terrified faces on shore. I had died... Not all the way, but I still died.

Miss Mary continued, "Rowan, Welcome to Everlost."


	2. Chapter 2 The Book

***AUTHORS NOTE* ****Hello to the few people who read everlost stories... i think... Anyways, review please! Writing tips are good, because it will help me grow as a writer, but i just love nice reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! And will encourage me to write more! So don't be afraid to tell me your opinion of the story so far! Im building up to the good parts, i promise! **

**Disclaimer- I do not own everlost, the great writer neil shusterman does... all hail NEIL SHUSTERMAN!**

* * *

Chapter 2

The Book

I stared at Mary and an awkward silence passed between us. "Well, that's something you don't hear everyday," I said finally, shutting my gaping mouth. "So, I'm not dead? And I'm not alive either?" I asked more to myself than her, but she nodded anyway. "Ok, so I'm like a gho—"

"We are not ghosts!" She interrupted, furiously, looking as if that was obvious. She quickly regained her cool, and sighed. "To call us ghosts would be insulting," she said more calmly, "We are properly called Afterlights."

I nodded, feeling like a dork with my bare feet and wet suit on… and they were _still_ wet.

Ok, that just wasn't normal. But, then again, I am in this 'in-between' universe with a crazy eyed girl staring at me like I had just fallen from the sky, so normal would just be out of the question by now.

Mary saw me studying myself, "I know you have many questions, but all of those will be answered when you read my book," the girl said proudly.

I looked at her as if she was a ghost… wait… she is one!

"You wrote a book?" I asked, smiling at my internal joke.

"Yes. Why? Do u find me amusing, child?"

_Child? _Ok, I don't know if that girl has eye (or mental for all I care) problems, but I'm clearly fifteen. And I'm sure that I'm at least an inch or two taller than her, and she is calling _me_ a child? Wow, she must be some kind of leader. So far, I didn't really like this so called Miss Mary, and I could tell she didn't like me, but something told me to keep my mouth shut.

"My book is called _'tips for taps'_ and it has everything you need to know about Everlost: from _Afterlights_," she looked at me pointedly, "to the chocolate ogre." Her face suddenly turned sour as if she had just took a bite out of a lemon, and I got the sense that she didn't like the chocolate ogre very much, whoever that is. Hey, maybe I could talk to this chocolate ogre sometime. It would definitely annoy the heck out of Mary.

Suddenly, I noticed she was staring at me with those icy eyes in awe. It made me feel uncomfortable, and so I started fidgeting with my thumbs, which is what I always do when I get nervous. I link my fingers together, and then twirl my thumbs until I got tired of it. Of course, I get tired of it almost immediately. What can I say? I'm just a restless soul… and plus, Mary's eyes were starting to bug me.

"Could you stop staring at me?" I asked a bit harsher than it was meant to, but I didn't take it back.

Mary shook her head as if coming out of a trance. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said, "It's just… I've never seen anyone with such a bright afterglow."

_Afterglow? What the…_ "English, please?"

"Never mind," she said, motioning me to forget. "You will learn everything when you read my _'tips for taps'_…" She paused, smiling. Only later did I think of it as a wicked smile. "So tell me, Rowan, do you have good handwriting?"

* * *

I used to think that your fingers could never get tired… if you don't include the countless video games that me and my brother play constantly-- or used to anyways. But soon enough, I found out I was wrong. My fingers had started cramping after the first few pages I had written, and I was so close to just giving up.

Mary had assigned me the job of rewriting her book 'tips for taps' so the people who roam Everlost, which are properly referred to as Afterlights, would have more copies to read. The room I was in reminded me of Santa's workshop you see in the movies with those little elves working on toys. I was expecting Mary to make us stick on fake pointy ears and put on a costume then refer to me as one of Santa's helpers, but of course it didn't happen. There were long tables that looked like the ones you would see in elementary school cafeterias, yet we weren't exactly making toys, but books. Mary had handed me a copy of "tips for taps" and told me to copy it word for word. She said I would be able to look it over while copying, so I could better understand the ways of Everlost. I did find out some very useful stuff, though. For example: I found out that a group of Afterlights are called a vapor, and the afterglow Mary was talking about earlier was referring to the gentle light radiating off my skin that all spirits in Everlost have.

Personally, I still feel like I am in a very realistic dream; that I would wake up any minute now to the sound of birds chirping and the rustling of wind weaving through the trees; the sound of _life_ that I miss so terribly. And plus, everything that was in the book was completely, and utterly… what's the word I want to use? Weird, unusual, _creepy_? Maybe even bizarre. I never even imagined my after life being like this. For a minute, I feel like that this is a punishment from god. Like he is trying to tell me that I'm not meant to go to heaven, and I'm not meant to be on earth, so I was sent here. But what confuses me the most is that I never did anything bad… Eh, I hope he isn't mad at me for not praying before I ate my mashed potatoes last week. I was starving after my swim practice dragged on for another hour because I couldn't hold my breath long enough to make it to the other side of the pool and back! I mean, who can do that?!

Anyways, I just don't think its fair for me to be here. I am leaving my family behind, but I can't just forget them like Mary wants us, the Afterlights of her "domain", to. She says that this is our new life now, and that we need to let go of our past. I can see every day the Afterlights falling under her spell like little lost puppy dogs. Mary is planning something darker; and that darkness needs to be revealed before it's too late.

If only I knew what that was.


	3. Chapter 3 The Afterlights

**Okay, so I know it's been awhile since I last updated this… No, a LONG time, but I was about to give up with this story; I realized that my plan that I had just wasn't going to work… but then I got a whole new idea for the story. And this time, it's a good one :)**

Chapter 3

_The Afterlights_

Just recently I, before I died, I found one of my old journals that I used to write in, the first one being in the summer before sixth grade. If you count the years, it doesn't seem long to most people, but to me, it felt like a century. When I had found it, I just laughed, thinking things like 'What was I thinking?' and 'When did I write this crap'. It was back then when I was a stick legged, immature girl who had absolutely no guidance in literature. Hah. Although it was a perfect example of what English teachers like to use as what NOT to write like, I still found it something I'd like to keep for the rest of my life; as I would've gotten older, I would look at in the darkest times just to get a good laugh every now and then. I would even have these small little fantasies of me reading it to my children, and passing it on from generation to generation. I can't remember much of what I wrote back then, now that I was in Everlost, but the memory of the chocolate stained cover still lingered. I wished I could read it one more time… just _one more time…_ and I'd be set.

But obviously, that wasn't going to happen… Y'know, since I'm dead and all… or half dead… or whatever! You know what I mean. Ugh, Fml… or would it be fmal? Fuck my after life? Eh, oh well.

Anyways, for the past few days, I've been writing a hell of a lot of books. Sound fun? Well, no. Not exactly. The only fun part was when we were sent to bed… well, not exactly bed; just a resting time… Kinda like in kindergarten when we had naptime, but seriously, who slept during that? Anyways! So let me get back on track. Resting time. Right. I learned in the book (I had no choice) that an afterlight can't do things like sleep… or breathe, although their chest may rise and fall in the remembrance of being able to breathe. Either way, breathing or not, all the Afterlights were given a break. Basically, we were sent into this little tent things and I believe it was an army base that was blown up or something because they had tons of cots scattered around the inside. All of it must have crossed into Everlost at some point… That sounds horrible, now that I think about it.

The first day I arrived here, I was told to pick whichever cot I wanted. Easy right? Well, I thought so… until I was violently tapped of the shoulder a few minutes after I sat myself down on a random cot.

"What do you think you're doing, Water Girl? You're getting my cot wet." I heard a voice behind me say, and I turned around to see the speaker. Water girl? Seriously? _They have _got_ to be kidding me,_ I thought sourly. As soon as my eyes fell on who I suspected to be the owner of the bitter voice, my stomach did a flip, and I shot off the cot as fast as my legs could take me. Now, I'm not known to be scared off by just anybody, but you would've done the same thing if you saw this girl… Or at least, I though it was a girl. You couldn't tell… Does that sound mean? The girl had a mat of short, mousy brown hair. She was built like a wrestler; and the only thing that stood out to me the most was the dirt that covered her in a grimy layer; smears on her cheek here, a smear there. Now thinking back to it, I'm curious as to how she "died", but I didn't worry about that then. It was the thought that this girl could possibly re-arrange my face that troubled me most. After looking at her, who wouldn't shoot off their bed if they saw a two story tall afterlight?

The girl was surrounded by a bunch of other people; girls that were almost as intimidating as her, but not quite. Intimidating or not, I did not want to get into a fight with a girl twenty times bigger then me and an army to match.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't kno—" I was interrupted by the Lead blowfish when held her hand out to stop me from speaking.

"Oh shut up. Just get away from me," she said through clenched teeth. _Jeesh_.

"Give the newbie a break," said a voice behind me. My head whipped around to see an older boy lying on his cot. He looked very nonchalant about things, which annoyed me the most. "She didn't know any better."

"Mind your own business Marc-O" The girl said, looking over my shoulder an the boy, and then looking back at me, "Just get away from me okay,"

And I did. I chose a new cot at the far end of the large tent; one that I was _completely_ sure nobody had. I heard one of the large girl's henchmen call her by the name of "Lil'One." _Hah, that's ironic_, I thought, thinking about her size. But it didn't matter; I didn't think I was ever going to get in her way again.

One thing I knew was that soon, we would have to go back out there and write more, but a girl came up to me when we had a few minutes left. She was a petite one; probably no older than fourteen. She had long, thick black hair, clumped into a loose braid with small strands sticking out in different directions. A thin headband was wrapped around her head, and different colored beads fastened themselves in her braid. Her hair was so long that it wrapped around her shoulder and reached almost to her waist. She had light brown eyes that seemed to blend into her dark skin. She wore a ruffled tie-dye tube top and light blue flare jeans. She looked like she had just stepped out of the 60's.

"Don't worry about Lisa," the flower child said, plopping down next to her. I gave her a questionable look. "Oh, that girl that just moved you of her cot." She paused pointing. "Lisa? Yeah, Marc-O told me all about it."

I ignored the fact that Marc-O or whatever was going around telling everybody about that little incident. "I thought her name was 'Lil'One'," I said, making quotation marks around the name with my fingers. "Oh don't listen to that girl. She's just trying to be more intimidating that she really is. She died when she fell from a tree," the girl rolled her eyes before perking up. "Oh sorry, my name is Oske; pronounced O-skay. But just call me Rain. That's what my name means," she said with a sheepish smile. I felt like asking her why she had such a strange name, but I didn't want to sound snobby. Apparently she knew what I was thinking, because she said: "I would tell you why my name is different, but I can't seem to remember. I think my mom was part Native American or something…" she trailed off, closing her eyes, trying to find a memory she would never find. She quickly gave up.

"It's okay," I said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Don't sweat it." With a little pat, I took my hand away from her shoulder. "My name's Rowan. Like the tree." Okay, so I've always hated my name; it sounded like something you'd name you're little boy, or... a pet dog or something. It didn't sound like a girls name at all, but that didn't stop my parents.

"Oh I like that name. It gives you a whole new depth." She said, but I just nodded and smiled like I knew what she was saying.

It was then that the bell rang, which meant back to the writing station. Great. I closed my eyes, wishing I was anywhere else but there; maybe the beach, next to the surf… Or possibly home with my parents and little brother, sitting in the living room, sipping hot cocoa on Christmas Eve. Groaning, I opened my eyes, expecting to see Oske and her 60's outfit, but when I opened my eyes, what I saw wasn't even close to the small figure of the petite fourteen year old…

I was home.

**GASP! What does that mean? Hah. You'll have to find out next chapter. Hopefully it won't take long! :)**


	4. Chapter 4 The Shore

**Oh lookie here, another chapter! It hasn't been that long, has it? But it's okay; I think it's worth the wait **** now, if you see a mistake, just keep in mind that I'm my own beta…. I'm always looking though ;)**

* * *

Chapter 4

_The Shore_

There was my home, right there… but it didn't look real. You know, when your vision is fuzzy, like in a dream. I almost didn't believe it at first, but the smell of salt in the air said otherwise. The first thing that hit me was the sound of waves crashing onto the shore, like they were welcoming me back after a long time away. The front of my house was exactly how I remembered; if I even could. Wood held the house together, painted white, but weather had never been good to it, chipping bits and pieces of paint during the many years it's been standing. To top it off, white sand surrounded the weathered house. The only thing that was off was the sky, which was clouded instead on sunny; gray instead of blue. It just wasn't normal.

The next thing I knew, I was in the entry way. Huh? _How the heck did I end up here?_ I didn't recall me walking into the house, but I just brushed it off like it was nothing. Looking at the dining room to my left, the floral wallpaper immediately caught my eye. The memory of my mom's face when we first set foot into the house popped into my head, and I couldn't help but smile. My mom dreaded that wallpaper, but never got to tearing it off the walls. I would always think that it had grown on her, even if she wouldn't admit it. As for the rest of the house, the creamy walls were decorated with past pictures of my family and a few modern things here and there completed the house. The sight of everything made me want to cry, but I didn't. There was no reason to cry now; I was happy to be alive, and to see my house again. I was right! It was all just a dream; the Everlost crap. Hah. _I can't believe how close I was to thinking I had actually died, _I thought._ Who knew that I had a big enough imagination to think up a whole world… and it seeming so real? _

That's when it hit me. Where was everybody? My mind traveled to the living room, and my head whipped around, the large room coming into focus. Nobody. It was like the living room was dead. Ironic, huh? _They… might be at the beach or something. They go there a lot_, I thought, desperately trying to come up with a better solution than just… _gone_. I weaved my way through the house until I reached the back door. I took a last sweep of the house, and then headed outside. It didn't take me long to reach the shore, but when I did, it was a strange sight to see. Yeah, there were people there, but nobody was lying on the beach catching rays like you would imagine; everybody was standing along the shore, crowding around one area.

I jogged my way to where everybody was standing, trying unsuccessfully to get a good look at what they were all gazing at. "Excuse me," I said politely, loud enough so at least one person would hear me. Apparently nobody was in the mood to listen to some lanky teenager, and I was tempted to scream the word "MOVE" to whoever got in my way; the angel that I am. Due to the fact that I couldn't see anything, I heard a few people utter whispers to one another, so I decided to listen in.

"…started drowning…"

"…she _was_ surfing…"

"…it was a stupid mistake…"

"…jumped in after her…"

"…very brave…"

"…two of them?..."

"…why didn't she just watch the news?..."

The voices sounded far off, like they were underwater or something, but it was still audible. Every small phrase puzzled me more than the one before, but it took only a minute for me to process what they were talking about. Squeezing my way through the large crowd, I got a visual on what everybody was looking at. Laying there were two limp bodies. Their skin was a dull shade of blue, and their eyes looked lifeless. I gasped. The first thing that I saw was a girl. She had sandy blonde hair that was in wet clumps, sticking to her face. Her eyes were slightly open, and I could see a sliver of jade green peeking through her eyelids. She was in a wetsuit, but the body lying beside her wasn't. It was a boy that looked slightly younger than the girl, but unlike the girl, he was wearing everyday clothes that were damp. The boy looked almost identical to the girl with his sandy blonde hair, but his eyes were more of a blue-ish color.

It didn't take me but a second to recognize who they were. The girl was no doubt me; you tend to remember what you look like after seeing yourself in the mirror for fifteen years. I wasn't used to seeing myself this way… _dead_. Maybe I was still in Everlost… and it was just some effect that would pass quickly…? Or at least I hoped so.

The sight of my body laying there wasn't a pleasant sight to see, but it wasn't my body laying there that made me gasp, it was the boy's. He had the face I knew too well; the eyes I had looked into so many times.

It was the body of my fourteen year old brother.

My hand went immediately to my gaping mouth, and I looked around the circle of people. Nobody was helping him, and it made me furious. "Aren't you all going to do anything?" I screamed, but it was like nobody could hear me… I was invisible to them? Cursing under my breath, I tried not to scream in frustration. Instead, I edged closer to my brother, kneeling beside him. He was taller than an average fourteen year old, and much more mature. He was close to passing me up, but I still had a few inches on him. With a shaky hand, I reached up to gently touch his pale cheek, but was only greeted by a small wave of air. I didn't notice I was crying until there was a faint taste of salt on my lips. I was so confused; how did this happen?

To my convenience, I could hear a conversation between two people close behind me:

"She was surfing, and then she fell off her board which led to drowning, right?"

"Sadly, yes."

"But, what about the boy?"

"It was her little brother. Oliver was his name. He jumped in, thinking he could save her, but it was too late. She was already gone, but he didn't want to believe it. And… well, they both got caught in god's rage."

My head whipped around to the people who were speaking. Oliver jumped in to save me? It was flattering, but I felt a pang of guilt. _It's my fault that he's in this position_, I thought. _If it wasn't for my reckless mistake, he would still be alive._

The two people spoke again:

"Where are the parents?"

"They went to go call an ambulance. It must be hard to loose both children at once."

"Oh, bless their hearts. My prayers or going out to them tonight."

I looked back to my brother's body. Why did this have to happen to me? But more importantly, why did this have to happen to my brother? He never did anything to bring this upon himself. My heart was breaking, and I clutched my chest like it would make the pain go away. My brother and I had moments where we just couldn't stand each other, but we loved one another more than an average brother and sister. I remembered when he was younger and he had a bad dream, he would climb in bed with me. And on my 7th birthday, he attempted to bake a cake for me with my easy bake oven. It didn't go so well, seeing as it used a light-bulb, but I would always tell him, "It's the thought that counts, Oliver!" And he'd just reply by shrugging his shoulders and walking away. Oh, and there was this oth—

My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, and unlike the other voices I was hearing, this one was clear:

"Don't be sad, Rowan."

The voice hit me like a ton of bricks, and my head shot up to the source of the voice. There standing right above me was my brother, clear as day, and dripping wet. My eyes kept switching to the dead body, and the one that was standing before me, perfect as ever. There was mixed emotions when I saw his face, but all I could say was:

"W-what?"

"This isn't the last time you'll see me," he said, with no trace of emotion.

"But you're dead, right?"

"I am, but you don't understand. I'm just like you: an afterlight. Rowan, I'm in Everlost too,"

I looked at him incredulously, but before I could reply, a slight blink brought me back to the world I despised most: Everlost.

The first thing I saw was Oske, and her curious brown eyes. "You okay?" she asked, with a joking smile. Although the girl was talking to me, my thoughts were still on my brother. He was in Everlost? Like me? I had so many questions that it was impossible to answer them all.

Looking up at Oske, I spoke, "Y-yeah I'm fine," I paused, "Uh… C'mon, let's go get to writing." Jumping off the cot and grabbing her hand, almost dragging her through the opening of the tent.

"Whoa," she said, laughing, "Okay, fine. But you're going to sit at my table."

It was Oske's turn to drag me, and she headed toward a table full of Afterlights, but I wasn't paying attention to who was there. My mind trailed off what had just happened. I didn't know what it was, but I knew one thing:

I was going to find my brother, no matter what.

* * *

**Bam bam turkey and ham. Haha I got a little carried away with this one… What'd you think of it? Review everybody with you're thoughts and predictions **** I'd love to hear them!**


End file.
